


Not a Puzzle Piece

by 123stopaskingformyusername



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ADHD, ADHDPietro, Asperger Syndrome, Asperger'sNat, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Avengers Family, Medication, aspie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-08-09
Packaged: 2018-06-03 17:31:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 3,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6619816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/123stopaskingformyusername/pseuds/123stopaskingformyusername
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony adopts a sweet little girl named Ava. Bruce is the first one to notice she's showing signs of autism and after a few tests, it's confirmed. Now the whole team is helping her become herself as her world falls apart around her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Results

Tony and Ava walked in, both extremely exhausted. Ava curled up on the sofa next to Steve. Bruce looked up at Tony. "How was the appointment?" He asked. Tony sighed, "She..uh...autism". Bruce nodded "You know we can help you out. But the first thing you need to do is call the school up. She may be able to get her special accommodations. But you should also tell the team" he said.

Ava got up from where she sat and walked into the kitchen to get a snack. When she walked in, Pietro was sitting on the counter. "Hey little kvetina. What's wrong?" He asked lifting her into his arms. Pietro was the only person allowed to pick her up or hug her with out asking. Everyone else has to ask before hugging her.

Ava looked up at him. "I got au...autism" she said, a bit confused by what she said. Pietro held her closer, understanding. "It's okay, I have ADHD. Did the doctor give you any pills to take?" Ava nodded. "Papa has them". Pietro nodded "I take pills to. We can take ours together" Ava curled up against him "Will you take me for a run?" She asked. Pietro hopped off the counter and nodded, before supporting her neck and running outside. 

A few minutes later they came back in and he set her down in Tony's lap. "So, when are you going to tell everyone?" Pietro asked. "Right now. You want to take her out while I break the news?" Pietro nodded "Get your coat kvetina" he said username the nickname he'd given her, flower in Slovak. As Ava ran off, tony had Jarvis call the rest of the team down to the lounge.

As they all settled in and Ava and Pietro left, Tony started. "Ava's tests came back. She has Autism Spectrum Disorder. She'll be fine, but she needs help from all of us. Communication will be hard for her. Maybe you could teach her sign language, Clint. But moral of the story is I..I need your guys help" 

Natasha snorted. "Someone record it. The great Tony Stark needs help." She said before getting serious again. "You know we'd all help you out I could work with her about with coping skills" Steve cocked an eyebrow at the comment. "What do you know about coping with Autism Spectrum Disorder?" She glared back at him. "I know my childhood". After a long pause, she spoke again. "Yes, I'm on the spectrum. Aspergers." The rest of the, didn't say anything for a long time. "Um... Is there anything else someone wants to add?" Tony asked awkwardly. No one said anything. "Okay. That's it." He said and walked away.


	2. The First Day

After the tiring day, Ava feel asleep as soon as Pietro tucked her into bed. Tony had come to check on her every hour as he worked in the lab, until finally, at midnight, going to bed. Early the next morning, Ava sneaked into his room and curled up in bed with him. "Good morning, Sunshine. What are you doing up this early?" He asked but the girl just hid her face in his chest. "Okay. That's okay. Try to get a few more hours of sleep," he said before falling asleep himself. 

They both woke up a few hours later at a reasonable time. Tony carried the little girl down to the shared kitchen where Clint was cooking breakfast. "Good morning you two," he said, signing the words as he spoke. The whole team knew a few signs, therefore Ava knew some too. She smiled when she saw her uncle Clint. She ran over to him and held his hand as she signed 'eat'. Clint smiled and nodded. "I'm making it now," he said, again signing along. 

After most of the team had woken up, they sat down at the table. They didn't do this often, but it was nice when they all ate together. "I'm gonna go down to the school today to talk about accommodations. Anyone want to come with?" Tony asked. Surprisingly, Thor said he wanted to go. 

"I'll talk with Ava about setting up a daily schedule. It may help." Bruce said. Ava was starting to get overwhelmed with everyone talking about her and climbed under the table. "Honey. Let's get out from under there. It's time to take your medicine." Tony said holding out his hand for Ava. Ava backed away and crawled into Pietro's lap. "I told her we would take our meds together," he said before rushing off with Ava. 

The two got to the bathroom and Pietro took out a pill bottle and ran to get her bottle from Tony. "It may taste bad, but water helps." He said taking one out. "Put it on the very back of your tongue and take a big gulp of water. It'll help you swallow the pill. Ready?" He asked. She nodded and he smiled holding up his pill bottle. "Cheers?" Ava smiled and clinked their bottles before carefully swallowing the pill. She hated the taste and started to curl up on herself. Pietro knelt down and took her hands. He started to sing Slovak songs to calm her down and after a while she was curled up in his arms.

Pietro carried Ava back to the living room where Tony sat reading an article about autism on his tablet. Ava ran up to her father and curled up in his lap. "Read to me?" She asked. She knew if she asked when he had the tablet, Jarvis would read to her. "Ava , you shouldn't hear about this," he said closing the article. "Please Papa?" She pleaded. Tony shook his head. "How about I let you watch your shows?" He said. Ava nodded and let Jarvis bring up her shows. 

"Papa, when can I get my own tablet?" Ava asked. She loved Tony's tablet, but he always thought she was to young for a tablet. "We'll see. I have to go over to your school later to talk to your teachers about what the doctors told us." Ava frowned and nodded. "Is Uncle Bruce going with you?" Tony shook his head. "Why? Did you want him to leave?" Ava giggled. "No, I need to ask him a question." Tony nodded "I'll see you later, okay princess?" Ava nodded and Tony kissed her cheek. At the kiss, Ava backed away. She didn't like kisses. 

Once Tony left, Ava ran off to Bruce's lab. "Uncle Bruce?" She asked quietly. "What is it?" Bruce asked. Ava looked down ant the floor. "What's autism?" Bruce sighed. "Come on, I'll tell you. Want to sit in my rolling chair?" Ava nodded and climbed into the chair and tried to focus on Bruce. "Autism is a disorder where people like you find being social difficult and awkward. It also means you have heightened senses. Some sounds, touches, lights hurt. Yes?" Ava nodded. "Is it bad?" Bruce did a dramatic sigh. "No. You're perfectly fine, but you'll need some extra help. That's why papa is going to school. He's going to get you help there and we will help you here." Ava nodded. "That makes more sense. The doctors only talked to Papa and that made me mad. You're a better doctor." she smiled. "Thanks," Bruce smiled "Want to go see what Aunt Natasha is doing?" At the mention of Natasha, Ava jumped up and she ran off to find Nat.


	3. A New Teacher

The next day Tony woke Ava up early for school. "Wake up princess. We need to get to school early today to meet a new teacher of yours". 

Ava tried to ignore him and curled into her blankets. Tony picked her up, blanket and all, and carried her to her walk in closet. "How about you wear some red today?" He said walking over to her dresser. 

The drawers were labeled by color, just how Ava liked it. "Red and black? You could look like Aunt Natasha". Ava nodded and closed her eyes as Tony picked out her clothes. "You still tired, baby?" Tony asked. Ava nodded again. "Well guess who's coming to school with us?" He smiled. 

Ava looked up, but avoided his eyes. "Pietro. You're meeting a new teacher and I though he should come to". Ava's eyes lit up and Tony's smile grew. "Now get dressed and then you can go get him, okay?". Ava quickly got dressed and ran off to Pietro's room. 

Pietro sat on his bed, shirtless and rubbing his eyes as Ava ran in and jumped on the bed. "Good morning kvetina." He said holding her close. Ava curled up up on his lap. "Hey, you alright?" Pietro asked, concerned. Ava hid her face.

"School," she said. Ava usually loved school, but ever since Tony mentioned meeting the new teacher, she just wanted to stay home. 

Pietro smiled. "I'll be there. Don't worry. I'll stay as long as you need". Ava nodded. "I don't like meeting new people." Ava said. Pietro nodded and set her down as he went to get dressed. 

Once they were ready, they both headed downstairs to eat breakfast. Tony was already in the kitchen, sipping his coffee. He placed a bowl of cereal in front of Ava as Pietro made his protein shake. Ava ate about half before pushing the bowl away. "Kvetina, you must eat." Pietro said. Ava shook her head. Pietro sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Eat for me? Then we can take our medicine"

Ava nodded and ate two more bites before putting her head down. "Good" Pietro said before picking her up and carrying her to the bathroom. They took their meds and walked back out. "Ready to go?" Tony asked. Ava nodded and ran off to grab her bag. 

The three of them got in the car and drove to the school. Ava was nervously kicking her feet as they drove to her elementary school. When they got there, Tony parked the car carful to not run over any of the other children. Ava held Pietro's hand as they walked in. Usually in the morning, Tony walked her to her classroom and on good day she let him give her a kiss on the cheek. Today was a bad day. Today was a day when she didn't want anyone to touch her, except Pietro of course, and she didn't want to talk. She watched as they walked past her classroom and down another hallway she didn't recognize. The walls were painted a soft blue which Ava liked much more than the harsh white of the main halls. Tony lead them down the hall and knocked on the first door. 

Ava watched as a woman opened the door and smiled. "Mr. Stark, you're back. I've already talked with Ava's teachers and you are free to spend the day here" she said before looking up and seeing Pietro. "Oh, I'm Ms. Rachel. I'm the special education teacher here" she said as she held her hand out for Pietro to shake. He did and introduced himself. After a few tries, she got his name right and smiled. Ava pulled on his jacket and looked up at him with puppy-dog eyes. Pietro lifted her up and set her on his hip. "Is this the special Ed section of the building?" Pietro asked. Ava had wanted to ask what this was but it had been a bad morning. "Yes. Here we help kids with physical and mental disabilities." Ms. Rachel said as they walked in. Ava put her head down against Pietro's chest and closed her eyes. "Kvetina, you must stay awake". Ava looked up. "I want my old classroom" she whispered to him. .oh you'll still learn there. You'll just come here one ore twice a day and we will help you" Ms. Rachel said. Ava nodded. Ms. Rachel smiled. "Would you like to see all the things we have?"

Ava nodded and Pietro put her down. She held Pietro's hand as they explored the classroom. While they were off. Tony started to talk with Ms. Rachel about Ava's needs. After about fifteen minutes, Tony and Pietro walked Ava to her classroom. Pietro gave her a kiss on the cheek and Tony gave her a hug. "Remember," Tony said holding her hands. "Ms. Rachel will come and get you later. If you need us, you know the number for the Tower, yes?" Ava nodded and recited the number. "Very good. And you know JARVIS will pick up." Ava smiled and nodded again. "Bye Papa," she said softly, "bye Pietro."


	4. Dinner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some Slovak in this chapter. All translations will be at the end.

"Ava! Come downstairs. There's someone here to see you," Tony called up the stairs. 

Ava ran down the stairs and saw Wanda. "Wanda!" Ava called excitedly. 

"Hello, Ava. How have you been?" Wanda smiled and picked her up. 

"Papa said I got autism." Ava smiled. After a few days, Ava had accepted it. She had spent the last few school days with Ms. Rachel and the afternoons doing homework with Bruce.

"Who is that?" Ava asked, pointing at Vision. Wanda turned to Vision.

"Go ahead, introduce yourself." 

Vision hesitated before saying his name. Ava looked confused for a moment. "You sound like J.A.R.V.I.S.," Ava said. 

Tony laughed from across the room. "Well, I used J.A.R.V.I.S. to help create Vision. Vision isn't human," he said. Ava stared in awe. 

Vision smiled and reached to pay Ava's head. Ava tucked her head away and jumped out of Wanda's arms. 

"Did I do something wrong?" Vision asked.

"No," Wanda said, "She has autism. She's very sensitive to touch."

"Oh," he said. Ava had to run to Tony and sat in his lap. 

"How about we have Wanda and Vision sit with us?" Ava nodded and ran off to get a book. She came back and calmly handed it to Vision. He looked confused at the book before opening it and beginning to read.

Pietro came downstairs when he heard the voice of J.A.R.V.I.S. reading Ava's favorite book. He recognized the book only because he bought her the book and was the first to read it to her. He rushed downstairs and saw Wanda. He immediately gave a wide smile. 

"Wanda , si ma , že prídeš dnes povedať *"Pietro said. "Že prídeš zajtra a vy nepovedal nič o Vision prichádza **"he said before kissing her cheek and glaring at Vision.

Ava stopped listening to Vision when Pietro came running down. Ava smiled. "To je v poriadku ***" Ava said in Slovak. Wanda's mouth dropped open.

"You taught her Slovak?" Wanda asked. 

"Only a little bit. I didn't want it to interfere with her learning ASL from Clint," Pietro said. 

Wanda nodded and hugged Ava. "I'm proud of you." She smiled and Ava hugged her.

~~~~~

"Dinner, everybody!" Wanda called throughout the tower. 

"We're coming!" Steve called back. Ava was already in the kitchen. Natasha for down to her level and smiled. 

"Can you set the table for us?" She asked. Ava nodded and skipped off. Soon, everyone was there's getting drinks and helping put food on the table.

Once everyone sat down, Bruce started to pass the weapons basket around. It was a rule that no weapons were allowed at the dinner table. They usually didn't have big dinners like this, so no one complained about the rule. The basket reached Natasha and she put in a pocketknife before passing it on. Clint passed the basket back to her. "All weapons, Nat."

Natasha sighed and put in two guns, a few more knives, and pepper spray. Ava smiled at Natasha.

"Ready to eat?" Tony asked. Ava nodded and handed her plate to Tony and curled into her chair. "Ava, can you sit up?" Ava ignored him and sat on the floor. Pietro looked down to her. 

"Want to sit in my lap?" Ava nodded and crawled into his lap. "What's wrong?" Ava just tucked her head against him and pointed to her plate which was in Tony's hands. 

"The food touches." She said quietly. 

"That's it? Do you want a new plate of food?" Pietro replied. Ava nodded.

"Peppers."

"Peppers?" Pietro questioned.

"I want peppers in my Nat and cheese."

"You mean mac and cheese?" 

"No, Nat and cheese. That's what Aunt Nat calls it when she makes mac and cheese. Natasha smiled from across the table. 

"Makes it original. Plus, I add chili powder. She wants more chili on hers. She likes spicy food," Natasha added.

Pietro nodded, "What else would you like to eat?" Ava looked around at the table of food. 

"Mashed potatoes, salad, but no tomatoes or carrots." Pietro smiled and prepared he plate, making sure no food touched.

"Can you sit in your chair now " Ava nodded and climbed into her chair. Ava finally ate and curled up on the sofa with Pietro

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> *Wanda, you didn't tell me you were coming today]]  
> **you were supposed to come tomorrow and you said nothing about Vision comes]]  
> ***It's okay]]


	5. What Next?

Ava woke up in the middle of the night to a loud noise. She wrapped herself in a blanket and looked out into the hallway. 

"Papa?" She called, not very loud, but loud enough for Tony to hear. Tony ran...in his iron suit. Ava began to get worried. Tony never wore his suit in the house, meaning he was fighting. 

He carefully picked her up and carried her to her closet. "Stay here princess," he said. Ava had tears in her eyes, but did as she was told. Over the next two hours, she heard yelling and gunshots. After a while it all stopped. A silent house. Ava slowly creeped out and was met with Natasha, who was keeping watch over her. Ava slowly crawled into Natasha's lap and cried softly. 

"Where's Pietro?" Ava asked between sobs. 

"You can't see him right now. He's hurt real bad," Natasha said, "so is Uncle Bruce. They're going to the hospital now," she added. 

Ava started crying more at the new information. Natasha couldn't do anything but hold her tight and rock her gently, just as she had wanted during a meltdown as a child. "It will be alright," she said, "Do you want to go to your Papa?" 

Ava nodded and held on to Natasha as she carried Ava out to Tony. "Tony, I think someone needs you," she said when she saw him. Tony immediately turned around and reached out for Ava, even if he was still in his suit. 

"Suit off," Ava commanded. Tony pressed a button and in less than a minute, the suit was gone. Ava grabbed for Tony. He lifted her into his arms and held her tight. 

"It's gonna be okay. I promise. Now let's get to bed."

Then next day, Ava didn't talk as she got herself dressed and ate breakfast. She was even silent on the drive to the hospital. When they got there, they went to see Bruce first. He was already awake. He wasn't injured to bad. Just a concussion and broken wrist. He smiled when the whole team walked in. Natasha even brought him a ballon that said 'Get Better'. Underneath of that, she had written in sharpie, 'or I'll kill you'. Bruce laughed and signed the release forms. 

Next they went to see Pietro. The whole team was worried about him and how Ava would react to seeing him. He was still asleep, but even in sleep, he didn't look good. There was a large tube going down his throat to help him breathe. There were bandages wrapped around his torso and shoulders, most likely from bullets. As soon as Ava saw him, she burst into tears. But Pietro was in tune to her heart and started to wake up when he heard Ava's sobs. Steve immediately ran out to get a nurse and soon the tube was removed from his throat and he was given a simple mask to help his breathing. "Kvetina, come here" he said hoarsely. Ava sniffled and sat on the side of Pietro's bed. "When you go home, there's something for you. In my drawer. A necklace. Ava, I might not be able to come home, you understand?" He said with great difficulty. Ava nodded and hugged him gently. Even here gentlest touch made him wince. Pietro kissed her cheek. "I'll see you on the other side" he said before Tony picked her up and they left. A few hours later, after she had found the necklace, Tony walked into her room. "Princess, Pietro... He.. He's gone"


	7. Progress

Ava was now 14

She was pulled out of public school after three months of being non-verbal. After seven years she still hadn't spoken. The whole team was on overdrive after Pietro passed.

Ava still tried to communicate. She used sign language with Clint and everyone picked up a bit after they had been signing for six months. When there was something she didn't like or understand she would scream and if she liked something, she would purr. It was really hard when Natasha had to explain menstruation to her after she screamed from the bathroom at age 12.

Ava found her strength though, in writing. She wrote beautiful poems and stories. She always had a journal or notepad on her.

One day, she was sitting in her room writing when Clint and Natasha walked in. She put her pen down and turned to them. 'What is going on?' She signed. She felt comfortable with Clint there. It meant she could sign freely and he could translate.

"I came to talk to you" Natasha said. "Clint came with me because I wanted his support and so he can sign"

Clint nodded and sat down at the end of the bed.

Natasha sighed and Ava made a confused face

"Ava, come here. I have a story for you." Ava come closer, but didn't say anything.

"That's right, it's story time. Did you know that I have a little brother?" 

Still nothing. 

"His name is Vladmir Romanova, also known as Vlad Romanoff. I first met him, it was way later than you would expect. I met him about six years ago. He tracked me down and asked me if I was Natalia Romanova. I said yes, but I go by Natasha because my given name scares people. One day we had a falling out. It was hard to accept him because he just showed up at my door claiming he was my brother. He seemed to know everything about me, more than I knew about myself."

Ava looked bored.

"Hey, stay with me, Ava. It's about to get interesting. I was very tense later that month because of a big ballet performance coming up. Then the worst happened. Vlad and I were walking to my ballet studio when he got shot by a sniper." 

Ava now looked shocked, just like 'Wow this is a really bad inspirational story.'

"Not over yet, Ava. The bullet went through his aorta. That's a part of the heart. He and I made up before he died." 

Ava's expression was just 'another story from Aunty Nat, someone always died.'

"Almost done, Cupcake. I felt like Vlad's death was my fault, like I caused it. I went nonverbal for a whole month, kind of like what happened with you. You want to know what got me out? A good friend named Clint. It's really hard for people like us to handle stuff like that, so we need people we can trust. Pietro's death really messed with me too, Cupcake. He reminded me of Vlad. Now I feel like I failed Vlad again. This is hard for both of us, but we can get through it together."

When she finished, Natasha wiped a tear from her eye.

Ava sat, unaware of what to do. Without thinking she ran up and hugged Natasha.

"That was a really bad inspirational story" she said in a weak voice.

Natasha and Clint's eyes lit up.

"But it worked" Ava said.


End file.
